The Genophiles are a group known for being brutally honest and fairly harsh critics. I encouraged the group to be completely honest as I wanted to get their input on how the wines are aging and overall quality. The ranking system is 0 to 3 puffs with 0.25 granularity (the scoring system is hard to explain. The simplied version is this: 0 = the worst, 1 = I would drink this (might even pay for it), 2 = 90+ points and 3 = I would stab someone else to get the last of the bottle.). There are also +/- involved.

There were about 16 people tasting the wine so the results tended to be on a good bell curve distribution. The group generally does not taste white wines as they have a bias against white wine…not worth the time was the feeling I got. The group was pleasantly surprised by the white wines (they grudingly agreed the wines were good ). Any wines that score a 2 will be in the running to be included in their end of the year blind tasting competition.

My guess going into the tasting was that the blends would do well — white and red. I was hoping to get the whites to score in the 2 range as it would be a big validation for the classic blend of Marsanne and Roussanne (with a hint of viognier for aromatics). My guess was pretty good about what they liked. I also noted that they tend to like the more aromatic and powerful wines.

Normally, only 1 wine out of 8 hits the 2 range. So, I feel pretty good about how the wines are showing and aging. The tasting does indicate that if you have 2006 Syrah, I would suggest that you break it out and enjoy it with some slow braised meat tonight ( especially lamb!)